contrasting colours when viewed from either side of
the void. The 470kg vertical blade of dichroic glass
separating the two sides of the artwork is 36.5m long,
430mm deep and 12mm thick; it has 14 separate
laminated and dichroic-coated elements.

Since Folded Light runs from basement to roof, it
‘cannot be viewed as a complete installation from any
single vantage point; its different sections are designed
to relate individually to each floor, while remaining
recognisable parts of the whole,’ Lowings says.

The lighting scheme for the building as a whole was
created by London-based EQ2 Light. When required,
natural light entering the void space can be enhanced
and supplemented by cool white light sources from
above, while colours from below increase the dramatic
impact of the artwork. Side-lighting at each floor level
picks out the colour in the dichroic-coated glass.

‘ 8 Finsbury Circus is a carefully crafted building on
a constrained City site in a unique bit of historic
townscape,’ says WilkinsonEyre director Oliver Tyler.
‘Much of our challenge was convincing the planners
that we could replace the existing building with
another of better quality, while maintaining the
architectural integrity of the Circus. The design is
unashamedly contemporary, but uses a traditional
palette of materials to assist the building’s integration
with the surrounding buildings.’
A portion of the north facade, dating from the 1920s,
has been retained. The building was reworked in the
1980s but that structure has now been replaced with
the current 160,0000sq ft ( 148,645sqm) scheme. A
colonnade has been added to create a new entrance.

The building, once known as River Plate House, isconfigured around a central core to provide columnbetween people on every floor in the building with thepresence and changing character of natural daylight’

Luke Lowings

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Opposite: Folded Light is behind glass, which adds a further layer
of reflection to the artwork